Actually, scratch that. Let's start with whoever made my current vacuum. There doesn't seem to be a way to remove the plastic ends, so that you get a straight tube and, say, unclog the tube with a broomstick. Suggestions?

I hate my vacuum too, megan. It's 12 years old and not that good, but will not die. It's a Hoover Legacy (upright) and it mocks me.

People here (possibly Cass and/or ita) had some miracle vacuum they loved.

What's a good vacuum? At this stage, I think I'd rather not have an upright, because it makes doing the stairs difficult, and for the now, the stairs are still carpeted. But I wouldn't eschew an upright if it was a great vacuum.

Did you spend three hours talking about sexual harrassment with HR?

This was my hell last Tuesday.

I am also in desperate need of a new vacuum. My vacuum is a vintage 1970 Sears Kenmore. It is older than me. It kinda works, but I am dying for something that really works. And preferably isn't $400.

What's a good vacuum?

I love my Eureka Boss. It's like the poor woman's Dyson, and comes with a lot of extenders/brushes/thingamajigs.

Nah, they're outside my building now.

Oh, good. Because I didn't get any coffee this morning, and I wondered if I was still dreaming.

Did you spend three hours talking about sexual harrassment with HR?

No. I have several giant packets with insurance and benefits information. It took almost three hours for us to walk through the corporate presentation. AUGH.

juliana, the people who owned this house before left their Eureka Boss here (well, the lady died, and her kids left it). I used it upstairs, but then always forgot the name of it, to buy new bags. I don't have all the attachments, but it's pretty good, huh? Maybe I'll just get new bags and give it another go. It's very lightweight.

Dyson! I think maybe Dyson was the miracle vac Buffistas were loving on.

I have the Hoover Windtunnel canister model, which has a HEPA filter -- the air that blows out is cleaner. I used to get sinus headaches whenever I vacuumed, so no wonder I didn't like to do it! Worth every penny I paid for it five or six years ago.

Bissell vacuums have a huge following around here, for those without half a grand to drop on a Dyson.

CR top-ranked upright is Kenmore Progressive with Direct Drive 35922, for about $300 (Dyson is a lot further down the list). Top-ranked canister is Electrolux Oxygen3 Ultra EL 7020A for about $500, then three more Kenmore Progressives.

An online membership to CR is, IIRC ~$25, and probably totally worth it for a purchase like this. I signed on just to decide on a cell phone.

Well, I've never had it clog until trying to suck up the enormous quantity of pine needles left in the wake of my tree. What annoys me is the fact that they designed each end of the hose with a curved, non-removable as far as I can tell, plastic attachment that basically means you can't check for, or fix, clogs easily. Stoopid.

In the end, I basically had to beat the clog out of the hose.